First phase of expanded Tysons Corner Center opens

Macerich opened  the first phase of its mixed-use urban expansion Thursday at Tysons Corner Center, a shopping mall in McLean that draws tens of thousands of visitors each year.

The opening  included Tysons Tower, a 22-story office building; a new mall entrance that connects the mall with the new development and a 1.5-acre plaza set 32 feet above street level that provides direct access to the Metro Silver Line that’s opening on Saturday, July 26.

According to Macerich, a real estate investment trust based out of Santa Monica., California, Tysons Tower is opening with more than 75 percent of its square footage leased. It's anchor tenant Intelsat, a provider of satellite services, is taking up 216,000 square feet. 

The expansion also will include a 300-room Hyatt Regency Hotel and 430-unit residential tower, VITA. Those projects are scheduled to open by the first quarter of 2015.

Macerich is the master developer of Tysons Corner Center. The development team for the new Tysons Tower includes Hines (development manager), Gensler (architect), RTKL (master planner) and CBRE (leasing agent). Landscape architects Sasaki Associates Inc. and Rios Clementi Hale Studios designed the Plaza.

Macerich, along with Alaska Permanent Fund Corp.,  has owned Tyson's Corner Center in Northern Virginia since 2005. According to the company,  the mall employs 10,000 people and is one of the “largest concentrations of retail on the East Coast outside of New York City.”